An official of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said he believes Turkey will pull down its inflation rate to 25 percent in the year 2000 as the government targets.

Carlo Cottarelli, chief official for Turkish affairs in the IMF, made the remarks at a meeting sponsored by the Turkish Banks Union, the Anatolia News Agency reported on Friday.

He attributed Turkey's chronic high inflation in the last 20 years to two main reasons: the weakening public financing and deteriorating poverty among the ordinary people.

He said the efforts exerted by the Turkish government to curb inflation in 1995 had failed. However, the present program to combat inflation is bold, the IMF official warned.

Cottarelli added that the success of the program depends on a few factors, such as the government's determination to stick to its promises in the stand-by agreement with the IMF, how the government will cope with emergencies and the structural reforms which are under way.

Later last year, the IMF signed a stand-by agreement with Turkey to support its economic reforms and the IMF will open an office in Ankara to supervise the implementation of the deal. (Xinhua)